Several days passed. The machines were estimated to reach Zion in twenty hours. Chikara had been called to a briefing and Athena waited patiently for her to return. The eighteen-year-old was becoming increasingly uneasy as the machines got closer to Zion. Some of her tension was relieved when the door opened and Chikara walked in. "How did the briefing go?" she asked her older lover.

"Things are not looking so good," Chikara answered. "Zion has lost contact with five of our ships that were supposed to launch a counter-attack against the machines. Apparently an EMP was fired before the ships could get into position. It's doubtful there were any survivors."

Athena became worried again. She realized that because the counter-attack had failed, the machines were on the move again and were still heading toward Zion. "What are we gonna do now?"

"The Ganesha has been ordered to intercept the machines, hold them off for as long as we can."

"You've been ordered to intercept them? But that's suicide!"

"If it saves our city, it's worth it."

"You're not actually thinking of going on the mission, are you?"

"I have to."

"But why?"

"Jue sacrificed herself to save our city. I owe it to her to do the same."

"Still thinking of your sister?" cried Athena with a good deal of anger in her voice. "Stop trying to imitate her! Don't throw your life away just because Jue did!"

Anger filled Chikara's eyes and she slapped Athena on the cheek so hard that the brunette started crying. "Don't say that about my sister ever again!" she cried with rage. "Jue was the embodiment of true power! And I won't let her efforts be for nothing!"

Athena looked up at Chikara, rubbing her reddened cheek. "If that's how you feel, then go," Athena said softly, fighting back tears. "Go and get yourself killed if that's what you really want."

Chikara stared at the girl in front of her. Her eyes welling with tears, Chikara turned away and ran out the door. Athena threw herself down on the bed, buried her face in her hands, and started crying uncontrollably. She was angry at Chikara for going on a mission that would undoubtedly get herself killed. Athena also loved Chikara with all her heart and was mournful for her lover's certain death. And Athena's mixed feelings about Chikara only added to the pain.

Athena's sobbing stopped after about an hour. She flipped over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, her eyes glazed over with tears. "Goddamn it, Chikara," she said softly. "Why did you leave me? And why do I love you so much? Stop tormenting me." Athena no longer wanted to love Chikara, but she could not deny that she would never stop loving the woman that had left her.

Suddenly, Athena could feel someone's hand between her legs. "Chikara!" she cried in joy. However, when she looked between her legs, she found that the hand on her pubic mound was her own right hand. "Oh, damn it!" Athena cried, realizing that it was only her mind playing tricks on her.

Athena tried to pull her hand away from her groin, but could not. It seemed to have a mind of its own. "The mind is connected to the body," Athena said to herself. "The mind is connected to the body." However, it did not seem to work this time. Although she was trying not to masturbate, there was something that kept her hand in place.

Unable to stop what she was doing, Athena simply decided to let her body take over. No longer holding back the urges that she had, Athena's hands went straight to the hem of her pants and pulled them off of her body. Her right hand went straight between her legs and started fingering her clit. Athena moaned as she fingered her erect clit. Her left hand went for her breasts and started fondling and squeezing them through the fabric of her shirt.

Although most of Athena's mind was not functioning, her tantric ability was still intact. It was the only part of her mind that had stayed connected to her body. Athena found the ability to stay away from her pussy long enough to pull her shirt over head and expose her breasts and hard nipples. With the shirt off of her body, Athena started pinching and twisting her nipples, making her gasp in pleasure. Keeping her left hand at her chest, her right hand went back down between her legs. The brunette slipped her middle and index fingers into her sopping went cunt while she fingered her clitoris with her thumb.

After several minutes of masturbating, the fingers inside Athena's pussy hooked upwards and started rubbing her G-spot. Almost immediately, Athena felt the pleasure that usually took several seconds of G-spot stimulation. Her body started rocking to her own ministrations, and her moans and sighs of pleasure steadily became louder and louder. Her head rocked from side to side as the pleasure that she felt continued to increase. "Oh Chikara," she moaned, "keep going." It was then that Athena realized why she could not stop herself from masturbating. She had become so close to Chikara that the Japanese girl was practically inside her mind. It was Chikara's memory that was causing Athena's actions, almost like a second consciousness.

After about eight minutes into her private session, Athena's orgasm started to build inside of her. "Chikara," she could not help but cry, "keep going. Oh God, I'm gonna cum. I'm almost there."

"Huh?" Athena could hear Chikara's voice say. "Ya gonna cum?"

"Yes. Make me cum!"

"Cum for me, Baby."

Athena's body tensed up as her climax came upon her. She bit her lower lip as she held back her orgasm for as long as possible, drawing a bit of blood. After about fifteen seconds, Athena's body started shaking. Athena flipped herself over onto her knees so that her orgasm would not soak anything other than the bed. Then, her orgasm hit and she cried out in bliss. Her pussy started contracting around her fingers and girl-cum squirted powerfully from her urethra. Athena could not believe how powerful her orgasm was. It was almost as powerful as it usually was inside the virtual world. Athena heard her cum-juices splattering against the bed, splashing a little on herself as well.

"Come on, Athena," Chikara said. "Cum for me again."

"Oh, shit!" Athena cried as her second orgasm approached. "Chikara! I'm cumming for you!" Her second orgasm hit hard and her body started spasming again. Athena's pussy walls rhythmically pulsated around her fingers and orgasmic fluid ejaculated powerfully from her pee-hole, completely soaking the bed and herself in her own juices.

After bringing herself to her third and fourth orgasms, Athena collapsed on the cum-soaked bed, panting heavily. Barely conscious, the only thing in Athena's mind was the image of Chikara. Suddenly, the setting changed. Athena's mind was transported to the main deck of the Ganesha. The Ganesha hand landed several minutes before in one of the critical pipelines that the Sentinels were about to come through. Athena realized that her mind had been transported into Chikara's body!

"Athena!" cried Chikara when she felt Athena's presence. Chikara looked at the holographic sensor reading of the Sentinels right around the bend and saw them stop dead in their tracks. They had heard Chikara's surprised cry and knew that there was someone there! Firing their EMP would not do any good because the Sentinels were out of range.

The Sentinel in front of the 1,000 behind it took out of itself a smaller machine. The Sentinel took a hold of the small machine and started spinning around and around. "Get us out of here!" Chikara cried. "It's a bomb!"

"Dorado, give me full power," said Mercutio. "Get us out of here. Back to Zion." Dorado brought the ship back to full power and flew it away from the bomb that was tracking them.

Then, there was some kind of explosion and Athena was transported back to her own body. She was still breathing heavily and sweating profusely, but not from her recent multiple orgasm, instead out of fear for Chikara's life. The eighteen-year-old quickly redressed and ran as fast as she could out of the room.

At that time, Commander Lock and the captains of Zion Defence were meeting with the councilors, explaining the situation to them. "Has there been word from the Nebuchadnezzar?" Councilor Hamann asked Lock.

"None," Lock answered, "and at this point, there's no reason to expect that there ever will be."

"Perhaps," Hamann said. "But, we can hope."

Lock responded by saying, "I'm afraid hope is an indulgence I don't have time for." The door to the briefing room opened and Athena rushed in. Lock and everyone else's attention turned to the girl running in. "What are you doing here?" Lock demanded. "This is a private meeting."

"I'm sorry," said Athena, out of breath. "But I need to know. Where is Captain Anubis?"

"Captain of the Vishnu?" Hamann said.

"Yes," Athena nodded.

"The Vishnu has just been deployed to mount a counter-attack against the machines in case the Ganesha fails," Lock replied.

"Call it back," said Athena. "I need to be on that ship. The Ganesha has failed and I need to save the crew."

"Who are you to ask this of us?" Lock asked.

"My name is Athena. I was released from the Matrix by the crew of the Ganesha four months ago."

"How do you know that the Ganesha has failed?" Hamann asked.

"I felt it," Athena replied.

Lock groaned and said, "Has the whole city gone crazy? Everyone seems to have some outrageous belief that goes against all logic. If the Ganesha has failed there will be no crew left to save and the Vishnu is our last chance to hold off the machines."

The councilors looked at Athena. They could see in her eyes that she was in love and that she had a need to save somebody on the Ganesha. "Commander Lock," Councilor Dillard said, "call the Vishnu back. Let Athena board."

"What?" said an outraged Lock. "Councilors? What are you thinking? We need every ship we have to hold back the machines for as long as possible!"

"It's hard to believe that two ships, let alone one, would do any good against two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Sentinels."

"Thank you, councilors," said a very grateful Athena.

The Vishnu returned to Zion quickly and Athena got on board. Anubis was a tall, dark man of African descent. He wore his hair and his beard in dreads. "Welcome aboard the Vishnu, Athena," Anubis said in a deep voice.

"Thank you, Captain," Athena said. "If it's any help, I've had some training as a gunner."

"Good," Anubis said. "We need all the gunners we can get. Ferris," he said to the pilot, "get us back out there to help the Ganesha."

"Yes, Captain," said the red-haired woman in the cockpit. The Vishnu took off and went back towards the last known location of the Ganesha.

"The Vishnu was named after the previous captain of the Ganesha, wasn't it?" Athena asked Anubis.

"That's right," said the tall man. "After Captain Vishnu died, this ship was built in his honor. And it was designed with the same specs as the Ganesha."

"Did you serve under Captain Vishnu's command."

"As a matter of fact, I did. But I was offered my own command once the ship was built. How could I turn down command of a ship called the Vishnu? Most of the people that serve aboard the Ganesha I knew from Vishnu's command, Mercutio, Chikara."

"I hope we're not too late to save them."

Just then, an alarm went off. "What's going on?" Anubis asked.

"We have incoming," Ferris replied. Athena watched as holographics projected the image of the incoming object. The brunette's eyes went wide with both joy and anxiousness when she saw that it was the Ganesha. Holographics also projected a Tow Bomb tracking it! "It's the Ganesha with a Tow Bomb following it," Ferris explained. "The Ganesha isn't fast enough. The bomb's closing on it."

"How far is it from the Ganesha?"

"One-point-five kilometers and closing."

"Land here." Ferris piloted the Vishnu down to the ground of the pipeline. "Athena, you have training with gunning. Why don't you get to the guns and shoot down that Tow Bomb?"

Without hesitation, Athena dashed toward the gun deck. She powered up the forward console and aimed down the tunnel where the Ganesha was closing fast. Athena saw on the console a blue object that represented the Ganesha and a smaller red object behind it representing the Tow Bomb. The Ganesha was twisting and turning, which meant that it was flying through winding pipelines. Having gunners on the Ganesha would not do very much good because of line-of-sight. Athena knew that she had to aim sharp so that she did not hit the Ganesha or miss the Tow Bomb.

Then, Athena heard a voice in her head. "Don't worry," it said. "You'll do fine." It was Chikara's voice.

"I won't let you down," the eighteen-year-old said. The Ganesha came into the line-of-sight of the Vishnu. As soon as the Ganesha flew past, Athena started shooting. The Tow Bomb was hit several times, but it was not disabled. "Shit!" Athena cried. Her body went limp and she started crying. Then, the ground started shaking. It was as if there was an explosion behind the Vishnu. Athena rushed back down to the main deck and frantically asked, "What happened?"

Ferris said, "It looks like you took out a few of the Tow Bomb's eyes. It couldn't see where it was going and it crashed into a wall." Athena looked at what holographics was projecting and saw the Ganesha in one piece. Athena started crying again, but this time out of joy instead of sorrow.

"Nice of you to drop by," Mercutio's voice said from the cockpit. Athena looked and saw the captain's face on Ferris' console.

"We heard you were in trouble," said Anubis, "so we came to help you out."

After the Ganesha had landed, the crews of both ships went out to greet each other. "It's been a long time since I've seen you in action, Mercutio," Anubis said as he came to the Captain of the Ganesha.

"Likewise," said Mercutio. "I see you've been keeping the memory of our former captain alive."

"Well, we wouldn't wanna forget good ol' Vishnu, would we?"

"Chikara!" Athena cried when she saw the raven-haired woman exit the Ganesha.

Chikara turned to the direction of Athena's voice and saw the young brunette running towards her. "Athena!" she cried. She ran to Athena, hoping to embrace her, but instead was greeted with a slap to the face. "Ow!" she cried, putting her hand to her cheek. "What was that for?"

"You know what that was for!" said Athena angrily. "You ran off of me!"

"I had to save Zion!"

"A fine job you did! Look at where we are! Miles from Zion with no way back!"

"If you hadn't called out to me, I wouldn't've let the Sentinels know we were here!"

"I wouldn't've called out to you if I wasn't so in love with you!" Athena embraced Chikara and kissed her lips deeply and passionately. Chikara embraced and kissed Athena back.

The crews of the Ganesha and the Vishnu looked on in awe and great surprise. "I could see in her eyes that Athena was in love," said Anubis. "But with Chikara? I was not expecting another woman!"

"I did not see that coming!" Dextera said.

Athena and Chikara broke the kiss and started crying into each other's shoulders. "I'm so sorry about what I did," cried Chikara.

For the next few hours, the crews of the Ganesha and the Vishnu collaborated to come up with a plan to get back to Zion. "I say we head back to Zion," said Dorado. "We can't do much good out here."

"And then what?" asked Kyla of the Vishnu, a woman with blond hair. "Once we're inside, we're dead anyway. By the time we get there, it'll be swarming with Squiddies."

Meanwhile, Athena and Chikara were sitting together at the edge of a downward pipeline, looking down several hundred meters. "Why did you come after me?" asked Chikara. "You knew we were as good as dead. And after I treated you the way I did."

"What can I say?" said Athena. "Love makes you do crazy things." Chikara put her arm around Athena's shoulder and let Athena rest her head on her shoulder. Chikara then rested her head on Athena's head. "It was the strangest feeling," Athena said. "It was as if I was looking through your eyes. I was on the Ganesha seeing exactly what you saw. I saw the Tow Bomb tracking the Ganesha, I saw you going through the tunnels trying to outrun the bomb. Then I saw some explosion, probably from the bomb colliding with something and exploding. I was afraid that it was a collision with the Ganesha, so I went on the Vishnu and tried to stop that from happening."

"Well, you did. You shot out that bomb's tracking system and it ran into a wall behind us. I'm very proud of you, Athena."

Athena smiled and said, "That's high praise coming with someone as powerful as you."

"Nah. I'm not that powerful. You were able to see the future. Not many people can do that."

Just then, Mercutio ran up to them. "Athena, Chikara," he said with a good deal of fear in his voice. "We gotta get going."

"What is it, Captain?" asked Athena.

"We've got incoming," Mercutio said. "It seems that the Sentinels were tracking the Tow Bomb that was tracking us. Holographics projects five minutes 'till they get here."

"Let's go," said Chikara. She and Athena got up and the three of them ran to the Ganesha.

"We have to get back to Zion," said Dorado. "The quickest way is back to Gate Three. It's not gonna be pretty, but we can make it."

"And what happens when we get back to the dock and we find the Sentinels in there?" asked Mercutio.

"Once we're inside the dock we blow our EMP. We disable all of the Sentinels inside the dock and make a crash landing. It should give the Vishnu enough time to get back inside Zion before the machines send reinforcements."

"Good," said Mercutio. "Let's get going."

Dorado powered up the Ganesha. Dorado contacted the Vishnu and Ferris' face appeared on the console. "How ya doin' over there, Ferris?" he asked.

"I've seen better days," Ferris said with a weak smile. The Vishnu's systems started up. Both ships took off and headed toward Gate Three. "We're going to Gate Three, aren't we?" the red-haired woman said when she noticed where the Ganesha was leading her.

"That's right," said Dorado. "You should stay just out of EMP range. We'll fly into the dock and blow our EMP. Then you go inside and land. We'll meet you inside Zion."

"It's as good a plan as any. Although I'm worried about the winding tunnels that we have to take to get to Gate Three."

"Just stay ahead of the machines and you'll be fine."

Five minutes passed. Holographics projected the Sentinels reaching the area that the Ganesha and the Vishnu had taken off from. They then started fanning out. "They're trying to track us down," Anubis said.

"Don't worry," said Ferris. "We'll get there okay. Aside from the Logos, the Ganesha and the Vishnu are the fastest ships in the fleet.

The Ganesha and the Vishnu got into scanning range of Zion. However, they were not happy with what holographics projected. "Oh, shit!" said Chikara when she saw the holographic image. It looked as if Gate Three had been completely destroyed and 10,000 Sentinels were inside the dock with 240,000 more waiting right outside.

"We don't have a way back into Zion," said Dorado. "We can't take out enough of those Sentinels to get back to the dock. And even if we did, it looks like the shaft as been sealed off. Even if we got to the dock, we wouldn't be able to get back into the city."

It was getting late and both of the crews were tired. Because there was nothing that they could do to help save Zion, they decided to get some sleep. The Ganesha and the Vishnu landed in a pipeline outside of the Sentinels' detection range. After they had powered down the ships and had some of the protein mix that they had on the ships, they went back to their quarters to sleep. Athena lay down on her side in Chikara's bed and Chikara lay down behind her, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. "Chikara?" Athena asked.

"What is it, Athena?" Chikara replied.

"Do you think Zion has a chance of surviving?"

Chikara thought for a moment. She answered, "I must say that things don't look good for Zion. However, if Neo is still alive, there is still hope."

Athena grabbed Chikara's hands tightly. "I really hope we make it through this," said Athena with fearful tears in her eyes, "so that we can be together again. Safe and sound at home in Zion."

"I hope so too, Athena," said Chikara, holding Athena's young body closer to her. "I hope so too." Although fearful, they both managed to fall asleep.

The crews were woken up by an alarm going off. They all made their way to the main decks of their respective ships and activated holographics. The 1,000 Sentinels that had been searching for them were coming their way! "We have to get out of here," Ferris said when she saw the red dots being projected.

"We can't," said Kyla.

"Why not?"

"Look," the blonde woman pointed to the Sentinels in the dock. They, too were heading their way and had just reached the closest adjacent pipeline in that direction. "The Sentinels that were chasing us must've contacted the ones in the dock. We're completely blocked off."

"How many could we take out with our EMP?" asked Anubis.

"We could probably take out the thousand that were chasing us," Ferris answered, "but I don't see us standing much of a chance when the Sentinels from the dock get here."

Captain Mercutio's face appeared on the console. "Do you see what we see?" he asked.

"Yes, Captain," said Anubis. "We're blocked off from the rest of the pipelines."

"Does anyone have any ideas?" Mercutio asked the rest of the crew of the Ganesha. Nobody answered. "Okay. We blow our EMP when the machines get here. We take out as many as we can."

"How many could we take out with one blow?" asked Dorado. "Once we blow our EMP, the Vishnu will be completely disabled and won't be able to use their EMP."

"Probably ten-thousand at the most," Ferris said.

"After that," said Dextera, "there's not much we can do."

"We should barricade ourselves inside the ships," Anubis suggested. "After you've fired the EMP, we'll have another two minutes at the most before the rest of the machines get to us. We'll hold off as many as we can with plasma rifles."

"Good idea," Mercutio said. "Dextera, charge the EMP. Once the machines are on top of us, blow it. Then, go get a rifle as quickly as you can.

"Right." With that, Dextera ran to the button that would activate the ship's EMP.

Because both of the ships had been shut off, the Sentinels did not see them at first when they arrived. However, because they had been tracking a ship with particular specifications, it did not take them long to spot them. They dove for the ships and latched onto them. When Dextera heard the clanking of the Sentinels latching on to the Ganesha's hull, he turned the switch. There was a bright flash of light when the EMP went off. All of the machines in a two-kilometer radius were instantly disabled. Dextera ran as fast as he could to the armory and picked up a plasma rifle, ready for the rest of the Sentinels to come.

Soon, the rest of the Sentinels came. They knew that both of the ships could not be operated so soon after the EMP that was fired and knew that both ships could not activate another EMP or fly off. They latched onto the hulls of both ships and started cutting into them with their lasers. The crews of the ships went to the breach points to fire at the Sentinels when they got inside the ships. Mercutio ducked out of the way as a laser from outside almost got him. "Shit, that was close!" he said.

A Sentinel opened up the hull of the ship and Dextera blasted it with the plasma rifle he held. The other crew members shot at the Sentinels with the plasma rifles that they held.

"How long can we hold out like this?" Dorado wondered.

"I don't know," said Mercutio. "These plasma rifles have a lot of energy in them, but with all of the Sentinels coming through, we won't be able to hold off for long. An hour at the most."

A long, mechanical tentacle came through the hole in the hull and started throwing itself around, trying to kill one of the humans inside. The Sentinel climbed inside and Dextera shot at it. It was a glancing blow not damaging the Sentinel very much. A tentacle flew towards Dextera and he was impaled by four sharp claws. "Dextera!" Mercutio cried. He fired at the Sentinel that had just killed his best gunner. This time, it was a good hit and the Sentinel was killed. "Shit. Fall back!" Mercutio, Dorado, Athena, and Chikara retreated to the lower decks.

Meanwhile, the Vishnu was suffering as well. Two of the crew members were killed and the rest had to get to the lower decks as well. However, one of the Sentinels took out a Tow Bomb and planted it on the Vishnu's hull. All of the Sentinels nearby the Vishnu retreated and the ship exploded. With the Vishnu destroyed, the Sentinels were able to concentrate more on the Ganesha.

In the lower decks of the last remaining ship, the Sentinels were still coming through and the four remaining crew members kept firing their plasma rifles at the giant, squid-like machines. Once of the Sentinels came for Chikara, and she hit it with a blast of plasma, disabling it. However, before she had time to react, another Sentinel came towards her and stabbed her in the leg. The Asian woman fell to the floor and cried out in pain and Athena turned and looked in horror. "Chikara!" she cried. The aimed at the Sentinel and fired her plasma rifle. It disabled the tentacle that had impaled Chikara's leg, and the Sentinel turned towards Athena, who shot and killed it. Athena ran to Chikara. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I've been better," Chikara groaned in pain.

"You'll be all right," Athena said. "It's only the leg."

"Athena!" Chikara cried in terror. "Behind you!"

Athena turned and saw a Sentinel coming for her. She aimed her plasma rifle, but the Sentinel knocked it out of the way before she had a chance to fire. The Sentinel threw a tentacle toward Athena, but she was able to dodge out of the way into a corner. However, with nowhere else to run, Athena was easy prey for the attacking Sentinel. It threw a tentacle toward Athena and the brunette felt four sharp objects dig into her abdomen. She gasped in pain, and then looked at the Sentinel in stun. Her hands wandered down to her stomach and she felt the Sentinel's claws in her flesh. The Sentinel withdrew its claws and Athena fell to the ground.

"Athena!" Chikara cried. However, she could not get to Athena because the claws of the Sentinel that Athena had deactivated were still in her leg, keeping her from moving. Much to the crew's surprise, the remaining Sentinels stopped attacking and went into some sort of stand-by mode. They were still ready to retaliate but they were not longer attacking the humans on the Ganesha.

Mercutio and Dorado kept their rifles aimed at the Sentinels, ready to retaliate if the machines started attacking again. Chikara, on the other hand, did not care about whether or not the Sentinels were attacking. Instead, she looked at the motionless form that was Athena's body against the wall. However, the Japanese woman did not cry because a part of her told her that Athena was still alive. However, she had felt the same thing about Jue when she had heard that the Osiris was destroyed.

Everyone stood still, facing the Sentinels in front of them, wondering what was going on. It was about fifteen minutes before the Sentinels started moving again. They did not attack the humans, but instead retreated. They simply went out through the holes in the ship they had made and left. "Dorado," Mercutio said, "go check out what's happening." Dorado nodded and went to the upper decks. Mercutio went to check on Chikara. "Chikara. Are you all right."

Chikara was still in shock, looking at Athena's body. "No," Chikara said softly, starting to cry. "I'm not." Mercutio took a hold of the tentacle that was in Chikara's leg and pulled it out. The pain that Chikara felt when the claws were pulled from her flesh was nothing compared to the emotional pain that she was enduring. Mercutio helped Chikara to her feet and took her to where Athena was lying. She fell in front of Athena's form and looked at her lover. "I'm sorry, Athena," Chikara sobbed. "I'm sorry!" She took Athena's body in her arms and embraced her tightly. "I'm so sorry! Why? Why couldn't I save you? Why?"

Then, Chikara was surprised when she felt something squeezing her body. She looked down and saw two arms wrapped around her. She followed the arms and found that they were Athena's! Chikara looked at Athena's face and saw the young girl's facial muscles moving! "Athena!" cried Chikara.

Athena slowly opened her eyes and looked at Chikara. "Chikara?" she said weakly.

"Oh, my God!" cried Chikara, overjoyed to find that her lover was all right. The two women embraced, happy to be together again. "You're all right! Oh, Athena! I thought I lost you!"

"So did I."

"Sir," Dorado said, getting back down to the lower deck. "Captain Mercutio," he said, "the machines are gone. They just left!" Dorado then looked at Chikara and was surprised to find that Athena was with her, embracing the Asian woman just as tightly as Chikara was embracing her. "Athena? How the hell?"

"Help me get them to the medical bay," Mercutio said. Mercutio helped Chikara to her feet and Dorado picked up Athena in his arms. The two men brought the two women to the medical bay to heal their wounds.

At first, Mercutio, Dorado, and Chikara could not understand how Athena had survived the direct attack from a Sentinel. They examined her to find out exactly what happened. "Wow," said Dorado during his examination.

"What is it?" Chikara asked while Mercutio was bandaging her leg.

"It seems," Dorado said, "that Athena only suffered a flesh wound. The Sentinels must have received orders to stand down right before the claws dug deep enough to kill Athena."

"But why did she pass out then?" asked Chikara.

"It was probably just fear," Dorado replied. "She had been impaled by a Sentinel and thought that she had been killed. That would definitely scare me shitless!"

"It'll be just fine." Chikara sat up. "A couple o' weeks and I'll be as good as new."

The Ganesha's holographics showed that the Sentinels were completely gone. They had left the mainlines, the dock, and Zion. Now able to get back to Zion, Dorado piloted the Ganesha back to the dock through the opening that was once Gate Three. Dorado contacted Zion Control after he had landed the Ganesha. Because the elevator shaft had been taken out, a crew was dispatched to help the crew of the Ganesha back into the city. They used drills and ropes to create a belay system up to the hole that the machines had dug from the dock to Zion. Once the hand-holds and ropes were in place, the crew helped Mercutio, Dorado, Athena, and Chikara back to Zion.

Although it was late, there was a big celebration in the Temple where the inhabitants of Zion were celebrating the end of the war with the machines. However, the crew of the Ganesha had just escaped from a seemingly impossible situation and were exhausted. Mercutio and Dorado helped Athena and Chikara back to their room before they left to go to their rooms. Athena and Chikara lay down in bed and embraced, kissing passionately. They stayed there with their lips locked for several minutes before they broke for air. When they ended the kiss, they put their heads on each other's shoulders and cried out of sheer happiness that the war was over and that they were safe and together. "I can't believe it," said Chikara. "It's actually over. Neo ended the war! For a moment, I didn't think we would make it. But, here we are."

"Together again," said Athena as if continuing for Chikara. Again, the two women kissed passionately, their lips parting and their tongues meeting. Their hands started roaming each other's bodies, groping each other's warm flesh. Athena started fondling Chikara's breasts and Chikara did the same to Athena. They moaned into each other's mouths as their tits were stimulated. Chikara rolled over on top of Athena and pushed herself into the young girl below her, pressing her large tits into Athena's. The brunette could feel her lover's erect nipples pressing against her flesh and she pulled Chikara's body even harder on top of hers. Chikara reached for the hem of Athena's shirt and pulled it up over Athena's body, exposing the brunette's bare breasts. Athena did the same to Chikara, baring the older woman's titties as well.

Chikara brought her head down to Athena's neck and sucked on the side of it, making Athena moan in delight. Athena stroked and caressed Chikara's back while Chikara worked her way down to Athena's collarbone. The black-haired woman reached Athena's breasts and sucked her left nipple into her mouth, causing Athena to arch her back in pleasure. The eighteen-year-old grabbed the back of Chikara's head and pulled her further into her firm breast. Chikara flicked the hard nubbin with her tongue, making it stand out proudly from the round orb that was Athena's breast. Chikara then moved to Athena's right nipple and gave it the same attention, making Athena moan even more.

Chikara made her way to Athena's pants and pulled them down and off the brunette's shapely legs. The twenty-one-year-old looked at Athena's pussy, which was drenched in the young woman's arousal. Athena's clit was protruding from its hood and her pussy lips were swollen and slightly parted, making her entrance quite visible to Chikara. the Japanese woman rid herself of her pants as well and then started rubbing the length of Athena's slit with her right index finger. Athena sighed in bliss as the older woman teased her pussy. Eventually, Chikara could not wait any longer and dove into Athena's wet muff, sucking her hard clit into her mouth, violently lashing at it with her tongue. Athena gasped in pleasure and arched her back, pushing her hips into Chikara's face.

Chikara was wasting absolutely no time going down on Athena. She was driven by lust and undying love, and wanted to both celebrate the end of the war make make it up to Athena for the way she had treated her before she left the eighteen-year-old girl to go on the Ganesha. Chikara held Athena's hips in place with her left hand and started working her wet canal with the index and middle fingers of her right hand. She started pounding the brunette's dripping pussy hard and Athena moaned in bliss, her hands moving to her breasts, squeezing the juicy mounds and tweaking the rock-hard nipples, sending shivers down her spine straight to her throbbing pussy. "Oh," she moaned. "Oh, yeah. Oh, Chikara. Yeah. Fuck me. Fuck my pussy."

Chikara started pressing against Athena's front wall and stimulated the younger woman's G-spot. Athena immediately felt the deep sexual feelings that she received from stimulation of her G-spot. Her tantric abilities had completely eliminated the feeling of needing to pee. Athena's body writhed in pleasure as Chikara fucked her as if the machines were about to win the war that had just ended. The eighteen-year-old's hands periodically gripped and ungripped the bed sheets as she enjoyed the immense feelings of pleasure that were coursing through her young body.

It took ten minutes for Athena's orgasm to build. Athena's body movements were becoming erratic, her breathing had become unsteady, and her vocalizations were getting louder. "Oh. Yes. Yes! Yes!" she cried as her body tensed up when her orgasm was imminent. Athena was able to hold back release for about fifteen seconds, letting the pressure build to its maximum limit. "Oh, shit!" she cried as her orgasm burst from her body like air bursting from a balloon. She screamed in absolute ecstasy as her body convulsed violently, her legs thrashing about. Girl-cum ejaculated powerfully from her pee-hole, completely soaking Chikara's face. The taste of Athena's sweet juices made Chikara even more aroused and she just went down on Athena harder. The continued stimulation brought Athena to a second, even more powerful orgasm, causing her to completely lose control of her motor functions and to spew forth several more powerful squirts of orgasmic honey onto Chikara's face.

As Athena's third orgasm approached, she cried out. "Oh, fuck!" and she gripped Chikara's hair, holding her face against her spasming cunt. Athena started cumming again and Chikara kept sucking hard on her throbbing clitoris as Athena's orgasm surged through her. It was not until Athena's fifth orgasm had ended that her young body stopped shaking and she collapsed on the bed, passing out from the force of her massive multiple.

Chikara sucked up as much of Athena's cum-juices as she could from the eighteen-year-old's sleeping form. Athena had several aftershocks as Chikara licked the sweet honey off of Athena's pussy. She worked her way up the younger woman's body until she got to her breasts, sucking Athena's orgasmic nectar off of the round globes. The stimulation of her tits brought Athena back to her senses and she moaned at the feeling. She pulled Chikara's head away from her breasts and up to kiss her lover. She tasted the girl-cum on Chikara's mouth and moaned at the flavor.

The two girls broke for air and looked at each other, seeing the deep feelings of love that they had for one another. "How was that?" asked Chikara.

"Amazing," Athena replied. "That was the most powerful series of orgasms I've ever had."

"Even more powerful than in the virtual world?"

"Yes. Even more powerful than in the virtual world. I have successfully brought my tantra into the real world."

Chikara started caressing Athena's left cheek with the back of her right hand. "God, you're beautiful," she said.

Athena took Chikara's hand from her cheek and kissed it. "I love you so much, Chikara," she said between kisses.

Chikara gave Athena one last short but passionate kiss before she started working her way up Athena's body. "Why don't you show me how much you love me?" Chikara said, straddling Athena with her dripping pussy sitting over the younger woman's face. Athena took Chikara's hips and pulled her pussy down to her mouth. She started to lick and suck at Chikara's wet lips and the Asian woman moaned in pleasure. "Yeah," Chikara maned as she started fondling her large breasts. "That's it, Athena. Lick my pussy. Mm." She started pinching and pulling at her nipples, causing her to gasp and arch her back in pleasure. "Oh. Does that taste good?"

"Mm-hm," Athena replied without taking her mouth from Chikara's pussy. Athena moved her mouth from Chikara's opening to her erect clit. Chikara moaned even louder when Athena started licking the hard nub above Chikara's wet vagina, and she started grinding her hips against Athena's face. Athena put two fingers inside Chikara's cunt and started rubbing her G-spot, making Chikara cry out in bliss.

Although Chikara's trantra was not as advanced as Athena's, she was still able to hold back her orgasm for about five minutes. Athena could tell that Chikara was nearing her peak, so she picked up the pace and started sucking harder on her lover's clit and pounded her pussy harder. Chikara cried in ecstasy and her body started trembling. "Oh, yes!" she cried. "Oh. Make me cum. Please. I'm so close. Oh!" Chikara's back arched as her orgasm approached. Her body remained almost completely stiff for several seconds until she cried out in bliss and started convulsing uncontrollably. "Oh, yes!" she cried. "I'm cumming! Yes!" Her hips bucked powerfully as she squirted girl-cum all over Athena's face. The brunette kept fucking Chikara like there was no tomorrow and Chikara kept cumming. After about a minute, Chikara was brought to a second, powerful orgasm, causing her to scream even louder, spewing more orgasmic fluid onto Athena's face and tits.

After Chikara's third powerful orgasm, her hips stopped rocking and her body came to rest next to Athena. When Chikara had come down from her pleasure high, Athena lay down next to her and kissed her passionately. Chikara was barely conscious, only able to discern that it was Athena that was kissing her and that her lips tasted like girl-cum. After several seconds of recovering, Chikara found the strength to wrap her arms around her young lover and kiss her back with just as much love and passion that Athena had.

After several minutes of loving embrace, the two girls broke for air and looked deep into each other's eyes. "How did you get so good at making love?" Chikara asked.

"I love you too, Athena." After their hard day and powerful orgasms, Athena and Chikara drifted off to sleep easily.

At first glance, Sarah A. Richards was an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl, standing 5'6" with an average build, blue eyes, and straight, blond hair to her shoulders. She got mostly Cs in her literature and history courses in school, which contrasted sharply with the A in science and the A+ in math. Sarah was always naturally good in mathematics and logic.

Despite her good looks, Sarah was not very popular. She was extremely shy and reserved, spending most of her free time on her computer. Unknown to the rest of the world, Sarah had a mysterious alter ego called Selena that only emerged while she was on her computer. Selena, using her innate skills in math and logic, was able to use her computer to hack into any other computer in the world. Sarah's main source of income was through Selena. She hacked into a computer system, downloaded material onto her hard drive, and sold it over the internet. Most of the material that Selena downloaded was full-length, DVD quality pornography.

Although Sarah had few friends in the off-line world, Selena had many friends in chat rooms. A good friend of hers was another hacker whom she had known for about a year. This hacker went by the alias "Athena".

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Hope you enjoyed the story! Please email me at nathan_warford@yahoo.com and send me your comments and constructive criticism. If you want to chat using Yahoo! Messenger, just email me and tell me so.